Photo: Courtesy of @Falcon82NC

St. Joseph’s Prep and Bonner-Prendergast played the only Catholic League game on Thursday, Sept. 10, at Bonner on the small turf field in wet conditions.

St. Joe’s starting forward Andrew Bracken headed the first goal after a flurry in the goal mouth. St. Joe’s subs Matt Swanick, Colin Marshall, and Chris Ix each came off the bench to score, cementing the 4-1 result for the downtown school.

St. Joe’s head coach Jim Murray was happy with the defensive performance and feels his team has a good chance against anyone in the Catholic League.

Bonner’s consolation goal came late in the second half when a St. Joe’s player slipped on the wet turf and handled the ball. Bonner’s James O’Connell took the penalty and scored his team’s lone goal.

In the preseason only Father Judge, La Salle CHS, and Roman Catholic maintained perfect records. As a result those teams have emerged as the favorites for the CL title this year. So, when Father Judge met La Salle at the Ramp on Friday, September 11 the game had big implications.

Twenty two minutes into the first half, Judge’s Sean McCormick slid a through ball to Kevin Ceno, who hammered home for the 1-0 win from sixteen yards out. Father Judge goalie Steven Paul made five saves to preserve the shutout and win. La Salle goalkeeper Brett Werner had eight saves.

Also playing Friday night were Roman Catholic and Conwell Egan. Roman Catholic put two past in the first half. The second half was more of the same, with the Cahillites putting three more past the Eagles for the 5-0 win.

Roman Catholic head coach Ray DeStephanis reports, “Such a team effort. Senior captain Brandon Gutekunst had a goal, his fourth in two games. Because who he is he gets doubled and tripled so much it opens it up for us to have four other kids score last night.”

Those other four goal scorers were Andy DeNight, A.J. Umile, Mario Millares and Brandon Mileourne. RC goalie Mark Tobin earned his second shutout of the season.

Conwell Egan head coach Barry Roxberry reports while Roman were relentless he believes his team is better than the result and the game can serve as a wake up call for the Eagles.